Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Karzai calls for candidates Abdullah, Ghani to put aside differences --- KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that his successor must be chosen soon to “salvage the country,” which appeared to grow more volatile as the day progressed. -- In a rare public statement since he has been forced to postpone his departure from office, Karzai addressed hundreds of Afghan leaders gathered in the capital to honor a slain guerrilla commander. -- Karzai pleaded with the audience to join him in pressuring Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah to put aside their differences so they can form a national unity government. -- “Afghanistan is in dire and urgent need of a new government,” Karzai said, as Abdullah and Ghani looked on from the front row of the auditorium. “Our tenure has expired. We want a new government, and Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani can bring us that new government through their unity.” -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also urged Ghani and Abdullah on Tuesday to quickly reach an agreement that assures Afghanistan’s first peaceful transfer of power through the ballot box. -- “Both parties share a real responsibility to guide Afghanistan to a peaceful and more prosperous future,” Ban said in a statement. “Given the scale of the challenges, this can only be done jointly.” -- The challenge facing the United Nations, as well as the United States and its NATO allies, in encouraging a smooth transition appeared to grow even more complicated this week. --- After Karzai spoke Tuesday, former president Sibghatullah Mojadidi, a Ghani supporter, walked onto the stage to speak. But the heavily pro-Abdullah crowd began jeering and taunting him. Abdullah urged his supporters to remain calm, but the ruckus continued, and Karzai abruptly left the auditorium. Mojadidi also left the stage -- The scene, which Afghanistan’s Tolo News described as “chaos,” is likely to raise questions about how much control Abdullah would have over his followers if election-related disturbances erupt in the coming days. -- Concerns about potential violence grew as some Abdullah supporters put on a show of force on the streets of the capital on Tuesday -- Hundreds of men — many carrying assault rifles or knives — arrived in Kabul to honor anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was assassinated by suspected al-Qaeda operatives two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They paraded around the city in trucks and cars plastered with posters of Massoud and Abdullah, at times firing bullets in the air.